The 10-year manhunt for Osama bin Laden ended on Sunday, May 1, in a 40-minute raid barely 1,000 yards away from a Pakistani Military Academy, where a Special Operations team comprised of Navy SEALS assaulted the compound and killed the terrorist leader.

The raid was the result of intelligence and analyst reports dating back to August 2010 and the cumulative efforts of U.S. intelligence agencies since the grim events of 9/11. According to a statement released by President Obama, bin Laden was tracked through a courier who was known to be trusted by him, and upon confirmation of the target, the order was given to raid the compound and kill or capture bin Laden.

Since bin Laden’s death, there has been a flurry of controversy surrounding his location in Abbottabad, home to what can be considered the West Point of the Pakistani military, the Kakul Military Academy and several other military strongholds. Pakistani military officials have been adamantly insisting the government had no knowledge of bin Laden’s hideout but have not been able to explain how Pakistani intelligence did not notice the massive compound or its unusually heavy security measures.

Lina Kreidie, a Middle East expert and faculty member at UC Irvine, pointed out that Pakistan’s lack of involvement could be a positive decision.

“It would be in [the] Pakistani government’s interest not to get involved in this mission of finding and killing bin Laden, as this will outrage the radical Islamist movements in Pakistan against the government who are suffering from lack of legitimacy,” Kreidie said, speculating that Pakistan’s lack of involvement could actually be a tactical decision.

Bin Laden’s death is the subject of much discussion, specifically as to how important the aging leader was to al-Qaeda and the Taliban’s command and structure.

Kreidie explained that bin Laden’s death would enrage some militants while simultaneously demoralizing others. Much of the aftermath would rely heavily on U.S. foreign policy and response to conflicts in Yemen, Egypt, Libya and Syria.

Professor Mark LeVine, who specializes in U.S. foreign policy in the Muslim world stated that bin Laden’s death is more cathartic than it is damaging to the terrorist structures he helped to create.

“We still don’t know how operationally relevant he was … In the absence of such broader change in policies, his death won’t impact the course of terrorism that greatly, and to the extent it weakens al-Qaeda, might give more legitimacy to the Taliban, who portray themselves as fighting against foreign invaders rather than engaging in global jihad,” LeVine said.

While bin Laden’s importance is debatable, there is little doubt that his death will be the cause of an upheaval within al-Qaeda ranks. The results of this will likely not be seen immediately, though, and intelligence documents recovered within the compound may have more immediate uses. Militarily, bin Laden’s death is the result of many years of hard work and sacrifice on the part of U.S. Military forces both at home and abroad.

Corporal Jack Williams of the 2nd Battalion of the 1st Marines, and co-founder of Military and Veterans Fraternity at UCI, felt that the victory was well-earned and deserved.

“The celebration in the streets wasn’t just about jubilation at the end of a life, but more broadly about a win for the right side of what I see as a zero-sum conflict between Islamic extremism and Western liberalism,” Williams said.

Corporal Williams also stated that he wasn’t surprised by bin Laden’s location in Pakistan but didn’t blame the Pakistani government.

“There may be individuals within the apparatus aiding terrorists, but that should not incite us to make rash decisions regarding our policy stance as a whole,” he said.

There are still many political pundits and religious leaders who have criticized the manner in which bin Laden was tracked down and captured, and others who are now engaged in discussions as to what the next move should be. The possibility of retribution attacks also are cause for increased caution, but Corporal Williams remained upbeat and energetic about the effects of Osama bin Laden’s death and the future.

“This killing was a tactical, strategic, national and personal victory,” he said. “Now let’s get the rest of them.”

If you’re going to write “paper wide,” you might as well write it correctly as “paper-wide.” Not to mention “Mark Levine” is actually spelled “Mark LeVine.”

Also, this comment reeks of pretentiousness and ignorance. Not only do you judge UCI as an institution based on a couple of style “errors” by a student writer for the campus newspaper, but you also completely renounce the choice of your child to attend UCI which is one of the most highly-ranked public universities in the country. I don’t think our faculty, which have made many important breakthroughs in everything from chemistry to psychology, would appreciate your demeaning comments about our campus.

That is an article from CBS news, which in my reality is a fairly well known news agency (perhaps not so much in yours). Please note the multiple one/two sentence paragraphs, especially those that handle quotes, or statements

In case you’ve never heard of CBS news, here are a few more well-known publications you might have heard of that , for some reason, think that a sentence does in fact a paragraph make.

Are some of the areas in this article broken up when they should’t be? Probably. Is that a ‘endemic paper wide?’ Well, if by paper wide you mean every journalistic publication in the world, then yes. Please feel free to mom them too.

2) This is semantics. Bin laden is dead. We have announced it. Bin laden’s death has been announced. We have announced bin Laden’s death. Bin laden (has been) announced dead. Newspaper titles for articles are often cut and stripped down, designed only to give the reader enough information to keep them reading. I personally would have preferred ‘Bin laden announced dead after multiple gunshot wounds through his rotten head,’ but I think that would have escaped the column width limit for the physical newspaper. Could it have been done better? Probably. Does it make a difference? Not a bit.

‘s/he stated,’ might be used in the case that the writer wants to paraphrase something while using a verb that has a more concrete sound to it, an exercise in journalistic freedom and creativity. Also, comma after ‘world,’ that you missed.

6) “This,” which functions as a pronoun, I think, should refer to the last used noun, which should be ‘upheaval,’ but might be ‘Al Qa’eda.’ Easily fixed by adding ‘upheaval’ after ‘this,’ but a minor point at best. Still, shouldn’t be nitpicky. 2/6!

To you, I add this: While your criticism is welcome, direct it to the editors in an e-mail. Posting it online as a longer complaint about the paper, your child, and how much you can bitch in a single post without proper usage of a carriage return just makes you out to be a troll. Here are a few basics for you.

1) using carriage return
2) when making bullet points or numerical lists
3) which as you will learn
4) is much easier to read and is less of a piss
5) yes this IS in fact a shitty rhyme, and I did it on purpose. Thought I’d save you the sleuthing.

Also, you might note the multiple hyperlinks I’ve used. These are called ‘sources,’ and are valuable in journalism. In an attempt to back up my arguments, I’ve provided examples that may be of some use. You pull these ‘basics’ right out of your ass. If you want to drop down serious criticism of the writing or editing, especially on a level as confusing and contorted as English grammar, accompany it with sources from an established book or resource regarding the use of grammar within a newspaper publication.

Note i said ‘grammar within a newspaper publication.’ Not all grammar is the same. Just as I wouldn’t use spell check in Mark Twain’s Huckleberry Finn, or would criticize at length the freedoms used by Tom Wolfe in his many writings, using an arbitrary grammar check in a newspaper article gets you absolutely nowhere. The ‘rules’ of newspaper writing are not the same as the ‘rules’ of writing a textbook. Are there errors? Yes. E-mail the editors like an adult. Posting a long-form complaint about why everything sucks makes you a troll at best, vying for attention.

One again, I agree that the editing could be better. The misplacement of commas are the bane of newspaper writing, and is likely the cause of the sharp decline in paper subscriptions. But beyond that, your criticism is largely unhelpful and inapplicable.

TL;DR: Break up your own paragraphs, source your arguments, and take it to the principle young lady, your schoolyard tantrums are unwelcome, as is your complaint, which is most certainly a foolhardy experiment in improving writing style through the use of credible nonsense.

I’ve tried not to comment about the grammatical errors, in light of the flaming I’ve received when I’ve done so; apparently, it is more important to spare feelings than to write properly. It is incredulous that a competent editor is not reviewing these articles, both for content as well as style. Here’s a few basics, for those of you who might want to learn to write: 1. A sentence does not a paragraph make (this issue is not limited to this author, but is endemic paper wide) – in this instance, the fourth and fifth paragraphs should be combined as the statements in both together make a thought; 2. Bin Laden cannot be “announced dead – his death can be announced, however; 3. “controversy” cannot “flurry” – moreover, the location is not the subject of the controversy, rather, the fact that it was overlooked by the adjacent military bases; 4. commas are to be used to set off the specific name of the general, i.e. in the third paragraph, a comma should follow the name of the Academy; 5. if Professor Levine “stated” something, that something should be in quotes, and, once again, the “paragraph” introducing him and the paragraph providing his analysis should be combined; 6. this is a fragment, not a sentence, because “this” is undefined: “The results of this will likely not be seen immediately, though, and intelligence documents recovered within the compound may have more immediate uses.”

Understand that it is not my intention to hurt feelings, but provide constructive criticism. I have been criticized for “sending” my child to UCI in light of my newspaper comments; suffice it to say that my child chose, in retrospect poorly, to attend UCI. College aged students should not be “sent” to a particular institution by their parents, but should make their own, perhaps regrettable, decisions in that regard. Also in response to criticism of my critiques, and along the same lines, it would be inappropriate for a parent to tell their college student child to work with the newspaper, editing or in any other position. Indeed, my child did consider applying for a position, but given the vitriol and bias frequently cloaked as news, determined that it was foolhardy to assist in such endeavors by improving the writing style and thereby add credibility to such nonsense.

It seems to me you should bring up your concern with your child’s obviously subpar education with your child and not in an anonymous comment. Though perhaps they don’t want to listen to your bullshit any more. I wouldn’t. If you don’t mean to hurt feelings, why are you insulting this newspaper?

Constructive criticism? What you are doing in pointing the flaws in his writing is more like public humiliation. How are your “negative” comments about this newspaper, article, Ravind and UCI students in general considered “constructive?”

If you a mature (and well-educated) adult, you wouldn’t be making comments like the following in a public forum: “…incredulous that a competent editor is not reviewing these articles, both for content as well as style…” or “…for those of you who might want to learn to write.” Instead, you would be writing a letter to the editor about the problem.

Oh…for your information, individuals at UCI rarely read the New University. By the end of the week, you can still see stacks of New U papers untouched in those vending machines around campus. The only people reading this paper in print or online are 1. Bored students like me 2. Students interested in the front page headline news like the Cheng case 3. Students seeking coupons offering free food. Frankly, no one within the UCI community cares that much about “doltish” grammar mistakes made by a New U writers to be commenting every single week here. Well, the only person is…*drum rolls*…you.

Hence, I’d say for you to publicly humiliate a student’s writing is unjustified and asinine. Your words make you sound like those grade school bullies having nothing better to do in their spare time. Are you a UCI freshman pretending to be an UCI mother? Otherwise, I suspect that you’re a bored because your child is off to college. If that is the case, why not find something better to do than publicly attacking UCI students? You could have devoted the time attacking our students to community service projects like handing out food to the homeless individuals. Better yet, you could have helped underprivileged grade school students in English!

If you really had the heart of giving constructive criticism as you claim in your post, you should have written a letter to the editors of the New U asking them to fix the problem. By publicly attacking everyone within the UCI community here on this website does nothing to improve the problem.